Groups of Galaxies in the Two Micron All Sky Redshift Survey

Creators: Crook, Aidan C.; Huchra, John P.; Martimbeau, Nathalie; Masters, Karen L.; Jarrett, Tom; Macri, Lucas M.

Abstract

We present the results of applying a percolation algorithm to the initial release of the Two Micron All Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog, using subsequently measured redshifts for almost all of the galaxies with K < 11.25 mag. This group catalog is based on the first near-IR all-sky flux-limited survey that is complete to |b| = 5°. We explore the dependence of the clustering on the length and velocity scales involved. The paper describes a group catalog, complete to a limiting redshift of 10^4 km s^(-1), created by maximizing the number of groups containing three or more members. A second catalog is also presented, created by requiring a minimum density contrast of δρ/ρ ≥ 80 to identify groups. We identify known nearby clusters in the catalogs and contrast the groups identified in the two catalogs. We examine and compare the properties of the determined groups and verify that the results are consistent with the UZC-SSRS2 and northern CfA redshift survey group catalogs. The all-sky nature of the catalog will allow the development of a flow-field model based on the density field inferred from the estimated cluster masses.

Additional Information

© 2007 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2006 June 2; accepted 2006 October 6. We thank the observers at the Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory's 1.5 m telescope, especially Perry Berlind and Mike Calkins, who obtained the majority of the spectra of galaxies in the northern hemisphere. We thank Susan Tokarz at the Harvard- Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics for reducing most of these spectra. We also thank Paul Schechter, Genevieve Monsees, and Ben Cain for useful discussions, and Igor Karachentsev and Xiaohu Yang for their comments on this work. We thank those who have contributed to the 2MASS Redshift Survey (including Steve Schneider, Roc Cutri, Jeff Mader, Ted George, Mike Skrutskie, Chris Kochanek, Emilio Falco, and Mike Pahre) and the 6dF team (including Will Saunders, Quentin Parker, Matthew Colless, Ofer Lahav, Gary Mamon, John Lucey, Elaine Sadler, Fred Watson, Dominique Proust, and Ken-ichi Wakamatsu). This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation. This publication also makes use of data products from the 6dF Survey of the AATO. This research has also made use of source code available at http://www.dfanning.com/. This work is supported by NSF grant AST 04-06906.

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